And that’s what you get with Martinez, who has been dominant in both of his Mets outings so far. Last Monday in Cincinnati, he struck out 12 in six innings. Yesterday, if it’s possible, he topped that.

Consider that after allowing Johnny Estrada’s fourth-inning RBI double, Martinez retired the final 16 batters of the game. In other words, he was perfect for the last 5 1/3 innings.

That’s even more impressive when you consider how desperate the Mets were for a win.

“I understood the situation we were in,” Martinez said. “They needed a big performance from me or someone like me.”

Someone like him? There is nobody like Martinez, who is looking as good as he ever has. In his last 14 innings, he’s allowed one run on two hits while striking out 20 and walking three.

Yesterday was his fourth career two-hitter and first since May 12, 2000, when he was with Boston.

“As good as it gets,” Doug Mientkiewicz said of Martinez’s effort yesterday.

Martinez also outdueled Atlanta’s John Smoltz, who tossed a shutout for seven innings but was touched for two runs in the eighth.

“Smoltz was good,” Beltran said. “But Pedro was great.”

“I felt like I had command of my pitches all day,” Martinez said.

Martinez is now 1-0 for the Mets with a 2.40 ERA. And for those who said he was just a six-inning pitcher, that myth should be dispelled by now. Martinez did it all yesterday. Nine innings, 101 pitches, a crucial win over an NL East rival. Not bad for the Met ace.